President Obama is caught in a Catch 22 where no matter what he does to pay down American debt he’s breaking the law because of two conflicting pieces of legislation. “Congress has created a situation where no matter what he does, he’s violating a law of congress,” said Barry Ritholtz, author of “Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy,” on the Indie channel’s Stand Up! with Pete Dominick.

So what happens if we do default? Listen to Ritholtz’s explanation of the worst-case scenario.